No one ever pulled the curtains closed at night out in the country. There wasn’t anyone out there to look at you anyway, but the windows always had Momma’s homemade curtains draped to either side.
The smell in the room was putrid and heavy. Momma had raised the windows up about three inches, maybe not so much as to let a little cool air in as to let some of the stink out. It was still too early in the spring to raise the windows all the way without getting cold in the room at night. Momma looked up when she saw me come through the doorway. “He’s been like this since yesterday,” she said in a low voice, almost a whisper. “At first, he could sit up and eat a little, just sip on some soup, but then he got to where all he does is lay there and try to breathe. He might have had a chance if I c
